Help me: i was caught illegally downloading in Germany

We all have our reasons to turn to illegal download in Germany. For some it’s about binge-watching the latest HBO hit series, for others it’s about getting their hands first on the latest Coldplay album. Some even want to get their hands on a rare 1991 version of the Star-Wars trilogy. Whatever it is, you might have gotten away with it in your home country. However, illegally downloading copyrighted content in Germany is severely condemned by law and is frequently enforced by private law firms who send cease and desist letters.

If you are reading those lines, you are probably holding an Abmahnung letter from a German lawyer asking you to pay a hefty fine because you were caught in the act. I will ask you not to panic and will reply to the many questions you have right now.

Here is everything you want to know on how to respond to a warning letter for illegally downloading copyrighted content in Germany.

Illegal download of copyrighted material in Germany, the basic stuff

What am really guilty of ?

German laws concerning file-sharing are pretty strict and clearly condemn any kind of file sharing activity related to copyrighted content. While both download and upload are condemned by law, it’s really in reality the uploading part of the process that will be rewarded with a warning letter. Using services like torrent clients makes you automatically share the file you are downloading. This is why torrent and other P2P clients users receive a lot of letters from German lawyers.

Since April 2017, users of illegal streaming services (also broadcasting of live events) can also get in trouble because of a decision from the European Court of Justice. It established (here) that users of such services are indeed acting unlawfully. However, unlike P2P, it’s very difficult to identify users of such platforms as IP adresses are often not stored by these platforms in the long-term, making the enforcement unlikely. Only premium users can easily identified.

On the document, you might see a reference to the set of laws dealing with copyright infringement in Germany; “Urheberrechtsgesetz” or “UrhG”. The article making it illegal is § 19a UrhG.

Who is responsible and who should pay?

German courts have stated that the owner of the internet access is in theory responsible for any wrong-doings happening on that network. They are responsible for securing it so other people don’t use it to download copyrighted content in Germany. This might bring up tensions if you are living in a WG and it’s not your name on the internet provider’s contract. In that case, the owner can “discharge” the fault onto the real culprit to be cleared of all charges if necessary.

How did they could identify me and find my address?

Those German law firms sending warning letters usually hire specialized third-party services that are scanning P2P nodes and clients, recording IP adresses that are currently downloading illegally in Germany. They are then authorized by law to ask your internet provider to disclose any information linked to that IP adress. This is how they obtained your private details.

Again, this is why law enforcement is really much more difficult to apply for illegal streaming services users. IP adresses are not stored on servers on the long-run and if the police should request a list, it’s only after a considerable amount of time. Beware however premium users; if you are paying a fee on one of those platforms, your IP will definitely be stored on the server, thereby increasing the risks of getting caught.

If you want to protect your traffic and use all services privately, you can get a VPN that will hide everything from anyone else. You can use NordVPN for example, which often considered one of the bests out there, especially since streaming works well with it and you connect up to 6 devices with one account (switch to English in the footer if needed).

Do they really have the right to fine me so much? Can it really go to court?

There is no clear set of rules that puts a figure on the fine you have received. It might be 900€ per illegally downloaded song in Germany or 2000€ for downloading a movie in Germany. The figure is entirely up to them. We will see later how it is possible to bargain it down a little. Although they do threaten to take this to court, it’s relatively quite rare it happens. It mostly an argument to scare you into paying fast and without asking any questions.

However, make sure to see the difference between the different fees mentioned in this document. There are fees for sending you this Abmahnung, the contract penalty & the fine mentioned as repair for their clients. Also note that a law passed in 2013 should limit Abmahnung and legal claim fees to 150€ & 450€ respectively.

Offense repairs on streaming cases are much lower, making it less profitable for law firms to pursue; legal claim fees remain the same as for P2P cases but the fine per film can only be 5 to 10€.

Is this a real German law firm and not a scam? Do they really work with the copyright holders?

Now this is a little tricky because it is true that some scam letters (e.g from non-existing “Kroner & Kollegen” law firm) have been sent around and they are not entitled to represent the copyright holder. However, most often than not, the warning letter for illegally downloading copyrighted content is a real one coming from a real law firm who represents company like Viacom, Sony, 20th Century Fox, etc.

What is this “Unterlassungserklärung” document and what should i do with it?

Together with the warning letter establishing your identity and the content, there is another document called “Unterlassungserklärung”. This is the German equivalent to a cease and desist letter that the law firm wants you to sign to prove that you recognize yourself to be guilty of the accusations. Do not sign this document and do not send it back! By doing so, you would give more legal ground against you and would have to pay.

Cease and desist letter for Downloading Deadpool (source: Quora.com)

Now tell me what can i do about this warning letter

There are different courses of action you can take at this point and i guess it depends on how bold you are and how good you are dealing with a possibly nerve-racking situation.

1- Pay-up right away

Let’s be honest now: those letters are an attempt at scaring you off and pressuring you into paying the full amount. This is even more impressive for a foreigner that doesn’t understand German completely. You shouldn’t panic and pay-up without asking any questions as there is room for negotiation. After all, you have to remember that it is not the government sending you those letters; the fine hasn’t been set by law.

2- Do nothing

While curling yourself in a ball and hoping that it will go away might not seem like the mature and adult thing to do, this reaction might still have a few arguments for it. Reacting this way is basically counting on the weaknesses of the system; those German law firms are very busy you see. They send hundred of thousands of warning letters a year to the average Joe for illegally downloading movies in Germany. They know very well that they won’t be able to handle each individual case manually so they might no simply follow-up, should you not reply to their first Abmahnung.

Then again, there is also a good chance that you might be part of the chosen ones for whom it doesn’t go away. If they do follow-up, additional legal fees might occur and it can be enforced. This is a risk you take if you pick this option.

Doing nothing is a viable option but it can back-fire at you

3- Seek legal counselling

They come at you with legal weaponry? It’s then maybe time to gear up with some of your own and get in touch with a lawyer. Judging from the cases i have heard around me and in forums around the internetz, this seems to be a popular option. It’s a good compromise between costs, stress & time spent dealing with a fine for illegal file sharing in Germany. Sure, it’s not cheap but you might in turn save hundreds of euros for negotiating a cheaper fine or even not paying it all.

What a lawyer will do is to send a modified cease and desist letter in your behalf that basically says that you are sorry for what happened but you still don’t recognize that you are guilty and that you won’t do that in the future.

Fees for doing so with German lawyers specialized in copyright infringement cases can vary. It’s really worth it in a lot of cases. If you don’t know where to start your search, Jurato is a good option. It’s a platform that connects you with recognized specialists in their fields. Payment is secured and all communication made in English.

I wish you good luck in fighting against the odds. I hope this post helped you understand your situation.

Also, if you want to use your internet access as you want, don’t forget you can fully hide your traffic with a good VPN like NordVPN. Considered one of the bests on the market, safe and easy to use, it works well for this kind of use too.

Edit 1: This question was asked many times in the comments:

“I used torrents or streamed this piece of content [insert movie or music here], and i didn’t know about the rules in Germany! What are the chances to be caught and receive a letter?”

Answer: There are no rules defining the probability that you could get caught, and also no way to tell the delay with which you can receive this letter. Only time can tell.

Edit 2: This question was asked many times as well:

“I used another service download content (Gdrive, WeTransfer, some random platform, etc), what are the risks?”

Answer: This post is about torrenting and streaming. I cannot answer about any other means or technologies.

Disclaimer: this post is purely for informative purpose about what to do when caught illegal file sharing in Germany. It doesn’t replace the counselling for a professional attorney. Please make sure you fully understand your situation before taking any action. Better safe than sorry <3 <3 <3.

Also a big thank you to Oliver from the Frankfurt Expat blog, whose post on the legality of streaming helped me fine tune some details of this article. If you are living near or around Frankfurt, check his blog out, it’s a good read to discover the city.

407 Comments

I do have a VPN service but a few days ago i realized that when it switch the IP, the app wasn’t set to “Killswitch” so between this time they could track me.

Today my nightmare started and i received a letter saying that in the end of July i used P2P and got caught. I have two weeks deadline to pay 950€. Also i am terrified because since there my torrent was on the whole time, and i have several movies! Im incredibly afraid that in the following weeks will rain letters.

Reading this article i could calm down a bit and once more i thank you for that.

Hi – simply downloading from a google searched server is dangerous? Google still lets you search for files (avi, mkv, mp3, mp4) on servers…Without sharing/streaming/uploading is just a file (save as…). What about add ons like VidoeDownload…- are they traceable?

Hi. Great article. I will fight back those letters. Question. Do you know or can recommend a good lawyer in Konstanz or know a site I can find lawyers by region that deals with this cases? Any recommendation would help. Thanks

i have a question… 3 years ago i was living in Germany for a short period and the owner of the house where i was living got a fine for something i had downloaded while i was in her house.

At that time we settled it with the help of some specialized lawyers and we paid just a small fine and she said that it was not her fault.

The problem is that now after 3 years, she received a “Mannbescheid” saying that she has to pay even more than what they requested 3 years ago! As far as i understood now she could do a “wiederspruch” where she will claim that it was not her but me who did the download or she has to pay the fine (or go to court). I am not living in Germany at the moment so the lawyer said that there is a very small chance that Waldorf Frommer will come after me if i sign the document that says it was all my fault.

But i’m not sure if it is good for me to officially take all the blame ? should not be enough that the owner of the place demonstrate that she was not in Germany at that time?

On the other hand, if she decides that she will pay the fine, can she start a legal action against me to recover the money of the fine?

Hi Adam. I won’t risk myself into giving you an advice for this as this is the first case of this nature i encounter. You already have professional help from a lawyer, so it’s probably a trustworthy advice. If you are unsure, you might have to hire your own lawyer for a counter-analysis.

Hi, This is wonderful thread, great help for the foreign students like me. I have a doubt, I have been using IDM (internet download manager), we can download video files while they are streaming, NEVER USED ANY KIND OF TORRENT DOWNLOADS.

Will that be a problem..? I used IDM to download Youtube songs and few episodes TV series. And a general question, in the worst case within how many days of download the letter usually comes..? I am worried and confused please help

Hello, I’ve been here in Germany for only two weeks and I didn’t know it’s illegal to download here. I downloaded an episode of one of hbo tv series but not a very popular one. It is quite new, so here’s my question. Is it possible to check if there’s any law firm represeting the exact movie rights I have downloaded. How much time does it USUALLY take them to track me down? What is more important: how much I shared or what movie I downloaded. I mean if it’s not a popular one is it possible that they won’t track me? Thank you

Hi Olivia. Like mentioned in the other comments; it is impossible to predict if you will get caught or/and when the letter will arrive. Common sense may indicate that law firms are more active on more famous IPs, because people are downloading them more, but who knows? You can check the list of firms in the post and check who they represent.

Hi, thank you so much for the information, I just found out about it and I downloaded some things. I don’t know if I got caught, I really hope not, but I wanted to know in any case. If I get caught.. how much time till I receive the letter? I used a hot sopt that I paid with my credit card (not german card) and I didn’t put an adress. How will they know where to send the letter?

i accidentally left a torrent on when coming from my country for barely 1 min and then switched it off immediately i have no idea if i was tracked but i want to know is if i was do they leave the wifi not working immediately

I just received the exactly same letter like on the picture. But the format seems slightly different. In the letter doesn’t state any information of how much I should pay. And I got it because of Popcorn Time. May I know what did u respond when you have it? And how much you paid? Thanks!

Hello I have also received the famous letter of 915€ for each movie.. 2 in fact.. Two movies that I had in my popcorntime app. And I didn’t even saw them.. I had the app open. I download the movies yes but not in Germany… In Portugal. And there you don’t have these problems… And that is the worst thing for me.. Because in the letter the time the download was made was from 12:11:16 to 12:11:47… So cmon… 29sec? I was connect 29sec I didn’t download anything.. (In this country) and I have to pay that amount? What you guys think? If I go to a Lawyer I can still have a chance to pay a very small amount? Because even it is 200€ is not cheap for me..

Hi Flavio, as mentioned in the post, downloading is not a problem but the uploading part is. During those few seconds, you probably shared some bits of data to other users (it’s still a Torrent app). Possible decisions for you to take are also already listed in the post.

In a nut shell I am staying in a guest house and a few weeks ago I used Popcorn time, and watched 3 or 4 movies. My landlord received a letter a couple of weeks ago and this was signed by the landlord and I agreed to pay the fine. On the letter it was signed that we must never do it again, which I have not since receiving the letter. The problem is I could receive more letters for the 3 or 4 movies I watched on Popcorn Time, is it possible that these other potential letters could be written off as I have honoured the initial letter and have not used Popcorn time since?

The next problem I will have is I will not have enough money to pay these fines if they make me pay for the remaining downloads.

Hi Scott. In my opinion it simply depends whether or not you will get caught again and if you do; whether or not those movies are intellectual properties represented by the same law firm which caught you in the first place. You have made a deal with only this firm in particular and this deal won’t probably matter to other law firms.

I have almost finished downloaded an episode of GoT (1.2gb) and at 90% I noticed I have my VPN offed. Now I am scared :s Will I immediately get a fine after this one stupid mistake 🙁 What is the normal period for them to send a letter/fine to you?

Hi,Thank you so much for your post!!!! I was mostly writing signature and sending back Unterlassungserklärung!!! In my case,,,,, My Airbnb guests downloaded illegal file(drama),and they already admitted it,(besides I was not in Germany at that time) so I sent the letter to the company (WALDORF FROMMER) to explain my situation. Then they sent me the new bill again that was discounted 560Euro t0 400Euro. I wondered if I still had a responsibility to pay the fine(even though it is obviously that I didn’t download it). So I called them and asked,but they said “You have to pay the fine because you’re the owner of the connection,after that you can ask the guest to pay the cost!The deadline is next week.If you don’t send back “Unterlassungserklärung”,we also can make it(the fine) higher.” So I was really upset,,,, (After that I found this web site!!!Thankfully!!!) Now I’m planning to consult at “Verbrauchezentrale”.If so ,I can’t send back “Unterlassungserklärung” by the deadline. Should I ask them to extend the deadline ???Or Can I just leave it??? How do you think???

Hi Kyu. The problem with your case is that this firm is definitely going to follow-up on you now that you have shown concern. Remember that they try to pressure you. It’s better to get help qualified help for that Verbraucherzentrale, even if you can’t send anything back before the deadline. The “fine” they send you can still be negotiated even after that deadline. (Please have someone professional confirm this asap).

Thank you so much for your reply. I asked the” Verbrauchezentrale” when I could have an appointment. They have available hour for my case only on Monday (9:00~13:00). And I got appointment 3weeks later.(Because I have important appointments on next and next next Monday ,for my extending VISA and my baby-delivery ) I’m worried about if it is too late. If you have another suggestion in addition to consulting at Verbrauchezentrale, I’d like to know that.(For example ,which kind of specialist should I consult with?Do you know some public office or service that I can consult about it?)

*I really thank you and your website.Without it,I couldn’t try to do anything and I really had no idea!!!!!Thank you again !!!!!

Thank you for this article. I have received the famous fine asking me to pay 915 Euro for downloading a movie. If I ignore them and they choose me to continue with the case, will I receive an alert before there backfire ? if yes what’s the delay .

Is chances for me getting busted is higher?? Coz i dowlaod some songs and rest get automatcally download because of internet speed may be. Still If i will be responsible for it coz i downloads had been made with my handset?? Or nothing would happend because both us is innocent as neither me had any idea about the laws as i’m tourist here for some weeks only nor she had any idea about downloads.

Hi there. It’s impossible to know if you were busted or not. You will soon know if your friend receives a letter. If she does, as mentioned in the post, you can take the blame on yourself via a lawyer’s letter. The fact that you both had no idea doesn’t change anything if you are caught.

Hi, I came back from abroad and realized my torrent client was still on when starting my computer… with around 10 latest movies in seed line. I have shut down the net in like 5 minutes… and cleared my computer from the torrent software. Do you think this 5 minutes would be enough to track me down, or am I on the safe side? I never intended to share here in Germany… Thanks. B

Yeah, I hope. Thanks. Do you have experience with private servers? (My files were shared within a closed community of my country) And could you confirm my belief (based on previous cases) that 0.000 ratio means no data was shared back/uploaded which means I can be relieved from this frustration? 🙂 Thank you

Hi I was recently visiting a friend in Germany – he’s 87 years old and currrently poorly in Hospital. Whilst at his house my British laptop appears to have been using UTorrent in the background and sharing 3 episodes of 24 Legacy. I already have these episodes legally at home on my TIVo, but just wanted to watch them on the plane on my way to Germany. My friend is really worried as he’s received a letter from Waldorf Frommer suing him for a total of around 3,000 euros. I 100% accept this blame, but don’t see the issue as I already have the episodes on my TV at home? Surely there should have to be some warning or block on UTorrent first? I’ll contact a solicitor as recommended above, but what would you guess I should expect the outcome of this to be? I want to take this away from my friend as he is too poorly to have to worry about thisZ Thanks

Hi Daniel. You can take the blame on yourself for sure. A lawyer will help you in doing that, while reducing the fine down. Concerning the fact that you already own the original material; i don’t think it will make a difference since you still shared and distributed an illegal copy of these episodes via your torrent client.

Hi Daniel, I am in a similar situation. On a recent visit to Germany I stayed with a friend. My phone has seeded two movies on a P2P that were downloaded in my home country. None of us were aware of this until the bill arrived. She has got a huge bill of 1681 Euros. She is a student with heft student loans and I do not want her to feel burdened. Were you able to sort it out? Were you able to reduce your liability or had to pay original demand? Any insights on how you dealt with it will be helpful.

Hi Daniel and Soho –> how did you resolve this? I recently had a friend from the UK stay over and when they turned their laptop on they uploaded material for ~40 seconds. 2 weeks later I received the letter from Waldorf Frommer and I’m wondering how to deal with it. Do you know what will happen if my friend accepts responsibility? I was wondering if it would end up being too much work for them to pursue someone who doesn’t actually live in Germany.

Hi, very informative article, thank you! But I still have two questions, first what if I downloaded the files from a public wi-fi in a public place, second what if I received the files in a privet e-mail or on my own drive (e.g. google drive), will they check these files too?

Hi there – we’ve just received a letter from Waldorf and co re a few downloads. We’re with the military here in Germany until 2018 or so and our PC is used by visiting family members from the states…should we even both with a lawyer? thanks so much – very informative article, btw!

I was recently at my girlfriends Munich apartment, and her flat mate got a letter as a result of me watching 1 episode on popcorn time 🙁

It has become a heated debated, and I’m trying to take blame, and take persecution away from the owner. We have contacted 4 lawyers between us, but the German language barrier is so confusing

My question is, can I take blame, and pay for the full extend of the court, and not let him pay the 1600 euros and in doing so accepting guilt. Can he pass the blame to me, if I write a letter accepting guilt ?

Hi, i have the same problem with the letters. My question is, once you have replied with the modified cease and desist, what is the next step?? They send you more letters and you have to ignore them or what? The thing is that I went to the lawyer with the free first consulting and she already wrote us the letter so we didn’t have to pay anything. So in case I am right and with the modified cease and desist letter is enough, i wouldn’t have to pay anything, right Thanks in advance

Hello Miguel, would appreciate if you can please refer to me the lawyer you consulted? I have received the same letter and and in search of a law firm which can assist me in going through this which won’t charge me an arm and a leg

Hello Bastien, this by far is the most short and clear blog I have come across. But hope your followers/readers can also share the law firms/lawyer they consulted? I have received the same letter and and in search of a law firm which can assist me in going through this which won’t charge me an arm and a leg. Thank you by the way for sharing all these info. really helpful!

Thanks for the info! My sister (17) is currently making an exchange year in Rostock (we are from Costa Rica). She watched a movie with her host family via Popcorn Time, and nobody told her that she wasn’t suppose to do that. Last week, her family received the infamous letter. Her host mom sent a reply saying that she told my sister that watching movies on the internet was illegal (she didn’t tho), and that she was not going to pay the fine because it wasn’t her fault, and that my sister should do it. Her host mom wrote our adresse in Costa Rica in the letter, meaning that the firm should contact her via that address, so my question would be, what do you think we can do? should we wait until the firm answers that letter? or wait until they try to contact us in Costa Rica? or should we hire a lawyer via internet to help us solve the case? (btw, she made a typo in the address, and our mail system really sucks, so the letter has a 98% possibilities to get lost somewhere)

Hi Amelia. Unfortunately, i am not in capacity to advise you on the decision to make. It sounds like you understand what’s happening and what the risks are for the situation though. The host mum did right by unloading the fault onto her sister with this letter. It’s also probably fair to say that it’s an extra hassle for a lawyer company to pursue someone outside of the EU, compared to other cases. Waiting to see if the letter comes might be a good tactic, but again, this is just an opinion. You should look for professional advice if you have doubts about this.

Hi, i have also received a letter from Waldorf Frommer containing that i have downloads illegal movie on torrent , and the funny think is the download time is just 16 seconds and i real dont know who really download the movie and they fine me 915 euro. the question is can be the IP address prove to clime on me ? the have send me my IP address and some movie hashes could be this prove ! and i decided to not pay is it a good idea coincidentally i am also a refugee

1- I have downloaded a song from a normal user in youtube on my iphone using a normal app, is that ok? 2- How many days do I need to wait until I receive the letter ? Even if you do not know the exact duration give me the approximate time please.

Hello Saif. It’s hard to say for sure but my opinion is that as long as there is no sharing/uploading, you are probably on the safe side and exposed to minimal risks. As for your 2nd question, i cannot reply as it depends on practices and cases. It should happen within a few weeks.

Hello,my name is Mickey and i am here in Germany one year,i have watched some movies online just streaming nothing like download or share or upload just straming via google on some websites no app no torrents etc.Is there any risk i m taking???Danke!!

Hey, I’m currently visiting my cousin in Germany and I watched some movies and to shows last few days on popcorn time. I didnt turn on the VPN and noticed a warning that “you are being monitored”. And I deleted the app at once. She has not received any letter yet. Is that possible that she won’t receive any letter in the future?

I received the above mentioned letter 2 days back for downloading a movie through torrent. where the downloading duration is just 30 seconds. It has been just 3 weeks that i have come to Germany for studies and i have no way of paying such a hefty amount. please help me.. i speak very little German too. Need your assistance on this.

My wife has a friend in Germany who has received one of these letters. Apparently he has asked a lawyer who said that he has the following options (other than paying up):

1. Ignore it 2. Reply denying any wrongdoing – this should elicit a counteroffer 3. Get someone who lives outside Germany (but within Europe, apparently) to declare that they made the downloads while visiting. Supposedly the law firm will not try to pursue anyone outside Germany.

My wife’s friend is considering option 3, with my wife making the declaration. This doesn’t sound like a great idea to me, and I’m concerned it could leave my wife exposed to possible issues (we are still in the EU for now, after all). Do you have any thoughts on this?

Hi Ben. That’s an interesting take on the issue from this lawyer. My knowledge wouldn’t allow me to challenge his recommendations. In my opinion though, option 2 and 3 are rather similar because instead of your wife’s friend replying, your wife is replying by saying that she didn’t know and will never do it again, also making a counter offer. Anyway, the lawyer is a lawyer so i guess he knows what he is doing. Good luck with that.

Hey i just downloaded 3 episodes of one tv series and just read about it.i dont what to do?i wasnt aware of strict rules.im staying here with my parent for a month.i hope.they dont get any letter.what should i do?

Hi! I have a problem. I came to Germany 2 month ago, and I was staying with my sister, and I wasn’t aware of the torrent downloads laws and I downloaded sreies and movies. Now she didn’t get any warning letters or at least not to her current address, maybe at her previous address, even though she updated her address with her IPS provider. So she didn’t received any letter as I said but the firm took the money strait from her bank account 650 eouros. Is that possible or legal at all? she went to the bank to ask them to put the money back, but they siad they can’t do anything about it. Any suggestion?

Hello Attila, as mentioned in the post, it can happen that money is taken directly from your account but it is usually a last resort thing. It happens only when many warning letters have been sent and all ignored so it stays pretty rare. Still, yes it is possible. However, if no letters were sent, it might not be legal. Your sister would need to prove that she never received them probably.

I’m curious about one thing: are the Internet providers in Germany required by law to keep logs about the activity of their clients? Where I come from, it is common that hundreds or perhaps even thousands of people connected through one provider share the same IP address. Which means that without the logs, it is pretty much impossible to identify who was downloading at given time.

Thank you! As my German is rather rusty, this information was hard to find for me 🙂 I guess that the reason why they do it is simply to cover their back, i.e, so that they can prove it wasn’t them who was downloading.

I was told that if you do not pay by the deadline, or even react immediately by the deadline, in order to give you the time to get paperwork ready and find a lawyer, that you should not panic. Nothing will happen to begin with as they will not sue for at least a year. Is this true?

Hello John. Maybe there is common practice but i don’t think there is defined rule because it’s up to each lawyer company to decide when to react and at which speed. Again, let’s not forget: there is nothing in the law that defines the conditions under which they should do that.

If you received a letter for a couple of movie downloads but you downloaded more than that, do you know if the lawyer can cut a deal with them for one amount and no more letters? It could get super crazy expensive otherwise.

I would say anything is possible because it is a matter of negotiation between lawyers and not a matter of law as far as penalty/fine is concerned. Again; the threat comes from private lawyer practices and not from the government. Both parties want the fastest resolution at the best possible price.

Hello Bat. This behavior would be considered the same as ignoring the letters. It is likely that you would need to prove why you never received them if it ever came to court. Just an opinion though, a lawyer would know.

Hey, what an awesome site! I was visiting some relatives in Berlin and i illegally made a download. It was “innocent” because I’m from Portugal and the laws are different there (you can torrent but you can’t sell it). Any idea to make a plea and solve this problem?

Hi Ana. German rules will apply to your case (and your friends’s too, by extension) even though you are from Portugal and acted without knowledge of the law. So the scenarii and solutions mentioned in this article are valid too.

Hi. Im searching for a lawyer to help with this, but Im having some trouble finding a good one. I have read several places that there are loads of lawyers working for Waldorf Frommer and will only screw you over. Any suggestions to which company to use?